Car-wheel lubricator



(No Model.)

A. W. WARD.

GAR WHEEL LUBRIGATOR.

. N0.45'7,019. Patented Au .4,1s91

lgazgfz- I V V UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANDREW IV. IVARD, OF CHARLESTON, ASSIGNOR OF ON E-FOURTHTO JOHN Q. DICKINSON, OF MALDEN, VEST VIRGINIA.

CAR-WHEEL LUBRICATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 457,019, dated August 4, 1891.

' Application filed April 1, 1891. Serial No. 387,228. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: ing a stop-cock 7, is secured to the elbow Be it known that I, ANDREW IV. WARD, a and depends toward the wheel. A wick-box citizen of the United States, residing at S is pivoted to the sides of the platform or Charleston, in the county of Kanawha and truck 1, as at 9, by means of an arm 10, ex- 55 5 State of West Virginia, have invented a new tending upwardly from the inner side of the and useful Oar-\Vheel Lubricator, of which wick-box 8 to the pivot 9, as shown in Fig. 2. the following is a specification. The lower portion 11 of the wick-box 8 is re- My invention relates to means forlubricatduced in size in cross-section and bent in- .ing the flanges of car-wheels, but is more eswardly toward the flange of the wheel, and 60 IO pecially designed to be used upon locomotives in the upper portion thereof is formed a supto lubricate the flanges of the front wheels. plemental air-chamber 8. A wick 12 of suit- It is well known that engines frequently able absorbent material isfitted in the lower leave the track when passing around short reduced portion 11 of the wick-box 8 and en curves, the cause being that the increased tends out from the lower end thereof against 65 I 5 friction between the flanges of the wheels and the flange of the wheel, as shown in Figs. 2 the outside curved rail causes the flanges to and 3. For moving the wick up or down the climb the rail, thus throwing the engine usual device is used, consisting of a shaft 13, from-the track. mounted upon the wick-box and carrying a The object of this invention is to provide serrated wheel or wheels 14, which engage 7o means whereby the flanges of the wheels (or the wick, and a thumb-wheel 15, by means of the inner edges of the curved rail) may be which it may be turned to operate the wick, lubricated to reduce this friction, and thus as will be readily understood. The serrated prevent the engine from leaving the track, wheels are inclosed ina casing 16 to protect and so save the danger to life and railroad them from dust. property consequent upon such accidents. The wick-box S is provided with a cover This object and such others as fairly fall formed in two sections l7 and 18, and an within thescope of the invention I attain by opening 19 is formed through the said cover, means of the mechanism illustrated in the acfor a purpose which will appear hereinafter. companying drawings, the peculiar construc- When the wick-box 8 is hung in its proper 8o tion, combination, and arrangement of which position,it is situated directly below the pipe will be fully described hereinafter, and the 6, and the lower reduced end of the said pipe points of novelty particularly pointed out in extends into the opening 19 in the top of the the claims. wick-box, the lower end of the wick-box, from Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a which the wick projects, hangs in close prox- 85 side elevation of the front part of an engine imity to the flange 0f the wheel, so that the having my invention applied thereto. Fig. projecting end of the wick 12 will be in con- 2 is a sectional view on the line 00 0c of Fig. 1. tact with the said flange of the wheel. From Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional View through the foregoing it will be seen that when the the oil-feeding devices. Fig. 4:15-3:11 inverted stop-cock 7 is open the oil from the'reservoir 9o 40 View of the device for controlling the contact will flow through the pipe 6 into the wickof the wicks with the wheels, and Fig. 5 is a box 8 and be fed by the wick to the flange of top plan view of the wick-box. the wheel. In the upper end of the pipe 6 is Similar numerals of referenceindicate corformed a conical valve-seat 20 to receive a responding parts in the several views. conical valve 21, the stem 22 of which latter 5 1 designates the front platform or truck of is screw-threaded and passes through a coran engine, mounted upon the wheels 2, and respondingly-threaded opening in the top of having a reservoir 3 mounted upon and exthe elbow 5. Asquare head 23 is formed upon tending transversely across the same. A pipe the upper end of the Valve-stem 22, by means 4 extends from the ends of the reservoir, at of which it may be turned to open or close too the lower part thereof, out over the wheels 2, the valve, and so regulate the flow of the oil. and terminates in an elbow 5. A pipe 6,hav A lock-nut 24: is placed upon the valve-stem 22,by means of which the valve may be locked at any desired adjustment.

One of the sections 18 of the cover of the wick-box 8 is pivoted, as at 25, and may be swung round, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5, to open the wick-box when it is desired to remove or renew the wick.

Both sides of the front truck or platform of the engine are provided with the lubricating devices hereinbefore described, and the two wick-boxes S S are connected together by a rod 26, pivoted at its ends to the said boxes. A bell-crank lever 27 and rod 28 (or other suitable connections) are used to connect the rod 26 with a suitable handle and locking device (not shown in the drawings) within reach of the engineer, and by means of which he can shift the rod 26 for a limited distance transversely across the front truck of the engine. The stop-cock 7 is also connected, by means of a link 29, a lever 30, and a rod 31, with a handle (not shown) within reach of the engineer.

In operation the reservoir is filled with oil and the regulating-valve 21 adjusted to permit the proper quantity of oil to pass through. When the engine starts, the engineer will open the stop-cock 7 to admit the oil to the wick, from whence it will be fed to the flanges of the wheels. WVhen in the normal position, the two wicks res-t lightly against the flanges of the wheels, thus feeding avery small quantity of oil upon them. Then about to pass into a curve, the engineer can shift the rod 26 to cause the wick on the outside to press closely against the flange of the outside wheel, thus pressing out a larger quantity of oil upon that flange,-which is then pressing hard against the rail. This movement will cause the wick-box on the opposite side (inside of the curve) to move away from the flange of the inside wheel, which, as it is not touching the rail at this time, requires no oil.

It will be understood that I do not wish to limit myself to the precise details of construction as herein described, as many modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the inventio.nas, for instance, should it be desirable to oil the inner edges of the rails, instead of the flanges of the wheels, I may extend the pipe 6 downwardly, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, and hang the wick-boxes in proper position to present the wicks to the inner edges of the rails. In this instance the wick-boxes need not be pivoted to the truck and connected together by a rod, as 26, for if the boxes are rigid and the wicks extend a short distance beyond the flanges of the wheels the tendency of the engine to press against the rail on the outside of the curve willpress the wick against the rail on that side.

I do not wish to confine myself to placing the oil-reservoir upon the front truck or platform, as it is obvious that it may be placed at any suitable point upon the engine or tender; or a smaller reservoir may be placed on each side of the engine in any desirable position and suitably connected with the feedingpipes.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s

1. The reservoir, regulating means for the escape of oil therefrom, a supplemental oilchamber communicating with the reservoir, and a wick carried by the oil-chamber and held in contact with the flanges of the wheels or the rails, substantially as described.

2. The reservoir, regulating means for the escape of oil therefrom, a supplemental oilchamber communicating with the reservoir, and a wick carriedby the oil-chamber and held in contact with the flanges of the wheels or the rails, and means for extending and contracting the Wick, substantially as described.

3. The reservoir, regulating means for the escape of oil therefrom, a supplemental oilchamber hinged to the truck and provided with pipe connections with the oil reservoir, devices for moving the oil-chamber to or from the flanges of the wheels, and a wick carried by the oil-chamber to make contact with the flanges 'of the wheels, substantially as described.

4. The combination, with the wheels of an engine, of an oil-reservoir, pipes extending from the said reservoir, regulatingwalves in the said pipes, supplemental oil-chambers with which the said pipes connect, wicks carried by the oil chambers and projecting against the flanges of the wheels, means for regulating the said wicks in the oil-chambers, and means for moving the said oilchambers to or from the flanges of the wheels, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ANDRE \V. YARD.

Witnesses:

' J. HISIGoERs,

R. W. DAYTON. 

